Cannabidiol-dominant formulations, methods of manufacturing, and uses thereof
Stable liquid formulations dominant in cannabidiol (CBD) can be manufactured by a sequential process of purification to create a formulation that does not crystallize under a variety of storage and use conditions, and without the use of potentially harmful additives. For example, the formulation may be used in vaporization devices (i.e., electronic cigarettes) that typically require formulations to remain in a non-crystalline, non-solid, or non-partially solid state. The liquid formulations dominant in CBD may further contain other phytocannabinoids, including, but not limited to, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabigerol (CBG), cannabichromene (CBC), cannabinol (CBN), and cannabidivarin (CBDV) in higher concentrations than unrefined and refined cannabis extracts obtained via existing methods.
1 . A method of using a liquid cannabidiol dominant formulation in a cartridge comprising:
adding a liquid cannabidiol dominant formulation to a vaporization cartridge;
wherein the liquid cannabidiol dominant formulation is produced by a process comprising:
a) extracting Cannabis sativa to form a Cannabis sativa extract;
b) purifying the Cannabis sativa extract via a distillation process to yield a cannabis distillate;
c) heating and dissolving the cannabis distillate in a non-polar hydrocarbon solvent to form a solution;
d) combining the solution with previously manufactured cannabidiol seed crystals to induce nucleation to form solid cannabidiol crystals;
e) removing the solid cannabidiol crystals from the solution to yield a liquid cannabidiol-dominant formulation; and
f) removing the non-polar hydrocarbon solvent from the liquid cannabidiol-dominant formulation to yield an oil cannabidiol dominant formulation.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the Cannabis sativa contains a total cannabidiol content of from about 4% to about 30% w/w, a total tetrahydrocannabinol content of from 0% to about 5% w/w, or a total cannabidiol to total tetrahydrocannabinol weight ratio of from about 5:1 to about 100:1.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the cannabis extract is extracted using a solvent selected from the group consisting of ethanol, 2-propanol, supercritical CO 2 , subcritical CO 2 , hexane, acetone, ethyl acetate, propane, butane, and combinations thereof.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the liquid cannabidiol-dominant formulation is further subjected to a winterization process, a second distillation process, or a combination thereof.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the winterization process comprises adding a solvent to the liquid cannabidiol-dominant formulation to form a solution, reducing the temperature of the solution to a range of between about −20° C. to about −100° C. to precipitate lipid solids from the solution, removing the lipid solids by filtration and/or centrifugation, and removing the solvent by distillation.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the second distillation process comprises a short path distillation process comprising heating the liquid cannabidiol-dominant formulation under a vacuum to separate impurities from the liquid cannabidiol-dominant formulation.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the liquid cannabidiol-dominant formulation is combined with a cannabis extract, a cannabis distillate, cannabidiol crystals, terpenes, or a combination thereof.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at least about 60% of the liquid cannabidiol-dominant formulation is consumed before reaching a vaporizer functionality endpoint of the vaporizer cartridge.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the solution is cooled to a temperature of between about −10° C. and about 10° C. during the crystallization process, and wherein the cannabidiol seed crystal comprises greater than or equal to 95% w/w of cannabidiol.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the cannabidiol seed crystal is added to the solution prior to or concurrently with the cooling, or wherein the cannabidiol seed crystal is added to the solution at a temperature of between about 20° C. and 30° C. during the cooling of the solution.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the vaporizer cartridge is configured to provide between about 100 and about 300 activations.